Protect Your Noggin

Overfill your cup: it will spill. Over-sharpen your sword: it might shatter, when it really matters.   Amass wealth: you can’t protect it. Excessive pride in riches and prestige will only leave you in disgrace.

A discussion of moral injury, how it shows up in the Bible, & how we might read accounts war and violence in antiquity. Jeff interviews guest Dr. Brad E. Kelle is professor of Old Testament & Hebrew at Point Loma Nazarene University. His academic work focuses on the OT prophets, warfare in ancient Israel, trauma studies, moral injury, and the history of ancient Israel and Judah. He is author of Th...

To discover the greatest good flow like water. Water pours life into all creatures without striving. It pools in places men disdain. This is how it’s like the Tao. So make your home in low places. Draw from the deep well of the heart. Offer kindness to others. Let your words be sincere. Govern justly. Let your work be your art. Remain present with everyone you encounter. Live without striving and...

…the sage puts herself last yet comes out ahead. She dies to her ego yet she finds life. See how this makes her selfless? And this is how she becomes her true self.

Tao Te Ching chapters 3 and 12 We discuss the importance of being presence, attending to bodily needs, and the history of Western Christianity's move toward the idea that we can't do much about injustice so we should just focus on the life to come. At hour 1 or so we share the meaning of life. We end with some cooking tips from Lao Tzu.

The spirit of the valley is deathless. She is called the Mysterious Mother.  The womb of the Mysterious Mother is called the source of heaven and earth. It flows endlessly, almost imperceptibly.

The cosmos is unbiased, treating all living things like sidewalk chalk drawings. The sage is unbiased, treating all people like sidewalk chalk drawings. The atmosphere is like a bellows. Wind blows through seeming emptiness. It stokes fires, but never runs out of breath.  Yet when blowhards talk, everyone gets exhausted.

We discuss the insights from the Tao Te Ching that help us all evade various forms of manipulation & mental shenanigans. In addition to some introductory matters, we explore at least 5 common pitfalls or "wipeouts" that many experience when learning to surf the Tao.  Lest you become crestfallen, as hard as these temptations & challenges are at the outset, rest assured that they soon give way to de...

The Tao seems like an empty vessel, but when you pour it out, it never ceases to flow. It is fathomless! A wellspring of all that exists.  (Note: Stacie was not a fan of Jeff's special effects on her voice toward the end of the recording, but she appreciates the spirit of playfulness nonetheless.) Protectyournoggin.org Taosurfers.com

Idolize celebrity and success, and men will bicker in envy. Overvalue possessions, and men will turn into thieves. Flaunt what you have, and others’ hearts will become restless. The sage leads by helping men let go of longing and fulfill living needs, let go of striving and enjoy good health. The sage emancipates men from mental slavery, and restrains the crafty from their manipulations. Surf the...

We made a list of seven reasons why the Tao Te Ching helps people from all (or no) faith tradition protect their noggins and learn to outfox religious wolves. In other words, this is an explanation of why we thought this text was ideal for our next set of lessons. We aren't quite ready to commit to 12 total lessons, but these 7 will likely be the backbone. 

Once we perceive beauty in the world, we also discern ugliness. After we gain knowledge of goodness, we also recognize evil ...

A tranquil meditation on the first chapter of Lao Tzu's classic. Each week this season, we will be offering two such reflections alongside regular long-form discussions. For information about our rendering of the text, check out www.taosurfers.com . For additional written commentary and show notes in general, check out www.protectyournoggin.org . 

Season one is all about Lao Tzu's classic  The Tao Te Ching,  and our two years of overland travel and exploration of this ancient Chinese book of wisdom. We discuss how this too can help us develop the mental, emotional and spiritual skills needed to find our own agency and avoid the wiles of unscrupulous religious folk. Show notes are always to be found at www.protectyournoggin.org Glossary of T...

This is the twin parable of the new wine and old wineskins and the new cloth patch on an old garment. Religious people tend to be critical of any deviation from the way things have traditionally been done. Despite this, Jesus encourages us to not focus on the external appearances or outward manifestations of spirituality, but instead focuses on the quality of the content. Ancient wisdom may take s...

According to Jesus, blasphemy against the Spirit is bearing false witness to the sacred. Find out more about The unpardonable sin, a.k.a. the unforgivable sin, the eternal sin, or the sin against the Holy Ghost. Mark 3:28-30 Luke 12:8-10 John 11:48

What is a cult (defined as a high? How can you get out of one? How can you help a friend who's got caught in their snare?  For additional notes, go to https://www.protectyournoggin.org/podcast  

It's possible for the official leaders of a movement—even a righteous one—to completely miss the point. Meanwhile, it's possible that outsiders actually are better at understanding the movement’s mission. Jesus emphasizes faithfulness to his way over membership in the group. Moreover, in the case of the movement that Jesus was ushering in, those who harm or hinder children on their path are condem...

A nonpartisan discussion of the ways in which the psychological theory of moral injury parallels what most Americans are facing now, as they must choose to vote or not vote, or vote for a candidate accused of serious misdeeds. Whatever you think of Tara Reade, Joe Biden's accuser or the list of allegations against Donald Trump, being forced to decide here threatens to implicate all of us in injust...

The parable of the Unforgiving Servant. Jesus invites us all to let go of spiritual & relational bean-counting & to recognize the crushing burden of indebtedness. Those of us who cling to our systems of transaction & obligation end up condemned by those same accounting systems. If we let go of those systems, we can find peace. True nature forgiveness isn't meant to allow continued abuse or to forc...

Sometimes, people keep you from adapting and thriving by labeling you in a way that limits your freedom to grow. We came to this topic because Stacie was getting to a spot where she wondered whether she might be cut out for podcasting, so instead of the episode we were planning, she applied lessons from the past couple episodes to her own life and to the question of whether we might be able to mov...

Jesus teaches his followers to be less judgmental about the lives of outsiders and yet more discerning about abusive behaviors in their own midst. Judgment involves condemnation with contempt.  Discernment involves radical honesty with deep compassion. Most importantly, discernment starts with assessment of our own situation. Jesus isn’t inviting us to negative self-talk, but rather an unflinching...

Dr. Betsi Little (Ph. D. in Experimental Psychology, Univ. of North Dakota & a faculty at Palomar College) shares a “Quarantine Positive Psychology Intervention Challenge” she offers to her students & provides tips for clearing quarantine head fog. Betsi's research focuses on the perceptions held of, and by, marginalized populations She lives in San Diego with her husband, toddler and beagle, Kyle...

The false sense of security we place on material wealth is detrimental to spiritual freedom. Jesus invites us to enjoy the peace and liberation that comes from letting go of our accumulated wealth and sharing with our fellow humans. Those who respond to Jesus’ invitation will find that, instead of feeling impoverished, they will receive the inheritance of the whole world, and will be free from the...

If Jesus came to your place of worship, what would he think? If he were to tell you directly about the last being first, would you be ready to be last, least, and lost? Jeff shares a message reflecting on the teachings of Jesus related to facing death, the concept of resurrection, childlike faith, letting go, and the nature of the true church.  This is a special episode of comfort and hope amid th...